Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature

De: Pamela Bedore, The Great Courses

Narrado por: Pamela Bedore

Can literature change our real world society? At its foundation, utopian and dystopian fiction asks a few seemingly simple questions aimed at doing just that. Who are we as a society? Who do we want to be? Who are we afraid we might become? When these questions are framed in the speculative versions of Heaven and Hell on earth, you won't find easy answers, but you will find tremendously insightful and often entertaining perspectives.

Utopian and dystopian writing sits at the crossroads of literature and other important academic disciplines such as philosophy, history, psychology, politics, and sociology. It serves as a useful tool to discuss our present condition and future prospects - to imagine a better tomorrow and warn of dangerous possibilities. To examine the future of mankind through detailed and fascinating stories that highlight and exploit our anxieties in adventurous, thought-provoking, and engaging ways. From Thomas More's foundational text Utopia published in 1516 to the 21st-century phenomenon of The Hunger Games, dive into stories that seek to find the best - and the worst - in humanity, with the hope of better understanding ourselves and the world. Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature delivers 24 illuminating lectures, led by Pamela Bedore, Associate Professor of English at the University of Connecticut, which plunge you into the history and development of utopian ideas and their dystopian counterparts. You'll encounter some of the most powerful and influential texts in this genre as you travel centuries into the past and thousands of years into the future, through worlds that are beautiful, laughable, terrifying, and always thought-provoking.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2017 The Great Courses

Killer content, awesome professor, cool topics

If you have a modicum of interest in sci-fi or fantasy, get this. The professor's cadence occasionally wears out its welcome, but that is likely only because I binge listened to this in a few days. I now have so many great ideas for books to read thanks to Professor Bedore. I also understand some of my favorite books, like 1984 or a Scanner Darkly, in a new light.

Simply Awesome

Why did it take me this long to discover this fantastic listen? I am strongly compelled to purchase as many of the novels Professor Bedore described in her lectures,as I can. This was an outstanding lecture series. Wish I would have had her in English literature class!

Wonderful Lecture

The lecturer was earnest and passionate about the subject, which really came through and made for a very enjoyable listen.

facinating

What did you love best about Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature?

Professor Bedore is really fun to listen to. I sped through it the first time, but now I want to get all the short stories and books and read them along with her ... I probably won't get them all, but I will get all the short stories.

Enlightening and Entertaining

Professor Bedore provides some great insights into the development of the Utopian and Dystopian genre. Her presentation style is wonderful.

I learned of novels and novellas previously unknown to me. On the downside, much of the late 20th Century and 21st Century selections presented were extensively progressive works. Perhaps that is the current state of creative writing. I wonder if that is the case.

Aside from that last criticism, I enjoyed these lectures and I am encouraged to try more from The Great Courses series on Audible.

Excellent review of a big part of the genre.

I thought the instructor did a good job of setting some parameters and going over different authors and Utopias and dystopias throughout history of course she left some out and included some that I wouldn't have overall a good review and you can skip having to read many of the stories which I don't have time for anymore on the downside I thought that the academic who was giving the lecture didn't challenge some of the motivations behind both the Publishers in the authors of some of the later dystopian literature especially the children's literature and the role of predictive programming in this culture

Very Interesting

The narrator/teacher is great. The subject matter is really interesting. This is one I’m going to listen to several times.

So good!!!

I enjoyed this lecture series soooooo much. I love the way Pamela takes, her passion is palpable. You can tell she LOVES this. And the lectures complement each other, referring back and foreshadowing. It’s just the best. I learned a lot and I will probably listen again to get what I may have missed.

Come for the analysis; stay for the reading list!

I've always loved dystopian novels since I first snuck my father's copy of 1984 to read under the covers in middle school. (Mom had been known to participate in religious book burnings, so I couldn't read it openly. As a result, Fahrenheit 451 remains on my shelf to this day, despite my mostly having pared down and switched over to audible and e-books. Somehow, I could never bring myself to own ONLY an e-copy of that one... but I digress.)

Professor Bedore brings a great enthusiasm, and a wonderful analytic mind to this topic, which is clearly near and dear to her heart. She starts with the original "Utopia", and works her way forward in time, showing the development of both utopian and dystopian genres up into the 2010s.

Along the way she looks at all the obvious books (e.g., 1989 and Brave New World) but also finds time to examine a number of books I'd never heard of (i.e, "We" and "The Chrysalids" are now on my list.) In addition to presenting some interesting thoughts (e.g., though it seems paradoxical, both utopia and dystopia are fundamentally about hope, which may explain in part the dramatic popularity of dystopian novels in YA literature since the new millennium), her lectures also serve as an excellent reading (and movie!) list.

Because this is something of a survey course, those wishing truly deep analysis of any particular text might be disappointed. But if you are looking for thoughts on how utopias and dystopias in general (and the distinct but related post/apocalyptic, speculative, and science fictions) examine and comment on history and current events, you'll likely be pleased with this course.

Professor Bedore as the narrator is also excellent, making me wish my long-ago professors had as much passion for their topic, and were able to read notes and present as well as she does! She's an excellent narrator as well as writer of her lectures.

Finally, as is the case with many of the Great Courses, the length of the course makes it a good value for your credit. Well worth both time and money investment, in my opinion.

Nice journey

Any additional comments?

Very good overview. I also got lot of nice suggestions of books to start next. I already purchased 4 titles mentioned in this course.